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David Ogilvy (1911 - 1999)

Founder of Ogilvy & Mather & Father of Advertising

His principles of brand storytelling, meticulous research and persuasive long-copy are the bedrock of modern brand building. His focus on results over artistic vanity remains a timeless mandate for effective creative work. He elevated copywriting and creative work to a disciplined craft focused on driving sales.

The consumer is not a moron; she is your wife. You must respect her intelligence.

Philip Kotler (1931 - Present)

Marketing Academic, Author, Economist, Father of modern marketing

Systematized and formalized marketing as a modern academic and professional discipline. Through his seminal textbooks and frameworks, he provided the structured, analytical foundation that transformed marketing from a creative accessory into a strategic business function. His frameworks remain the foundational language taught in business schools worldwide and provide the essential strategic checklist that every marketer, from analogue to digital, must still consider.

The art of marketing is the art of brand building. If you are not a brand, you are a commodity.

Peter Drucker (1909 - 2005)

Management Theorist, Philosopher, Author & intellectual father of customer-centricity

Defined marketing’s supreme strategic role as understanding the customer so profoundly that the product sells itself. He positioned marketing not as a function, but as the entire business seen from the customer’s point of view.

The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous.

Henry Ford (1863 - 1947)

Industrialist, Founder of Ford Motor Company

Pioneered mass production and perfected the moving assembly line, which lowered costs and made products accessible to the masses. Demonstrated the power of supply-side efficiency to create dominant market positions. He symbolizes a historic, production-centric view that modern marketing (with its focus on segmentation and personalization) directly reacted against.

Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.

John Wanamaker (1838 - 1922)

Entrepreneur, Pioneer of Modern Advertising

Laid the groundwork for marketing accountability by formalizing the crucial question of Return on Investment (ROI) and performance measurement. His “paradox” is the fundamental quest that spawned the entire analytics industry, digital tracking and data-driven marketing.

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.